(Carnival sweet fritters - Authentic Italian recipes)

Chiacchiere: how to make these Carnival sweet fritters, Italy-style

200 g (7 oz) all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
50 g (1 3/4 oz) sugar
1 liqueur glass of dry white wine
Oil for frying
Icing sugar
Salt

Time:
preparation: 30 minutes
plus resting time for the dough
cooking: 30/40 minutes
Difficulty:
medium
Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: 197 (kCal) 10 % GDA - 825 (kJ)
Protein: 5.3 (g) 10 % GDA
Total fat: 5.2 (g) 7 % GDA
Total carbohydrate: 34.5 (g) 13 % GDA
Sugars: 8.9 (g) 9 % GDA

These cakes are made in Italy for Carnival. They are known with different names in our regions:

- Chiacchiere in Lombardy
- Cenci in Tuscany
- Frappe in Emilia
- Bugie in Genoa
- Crostoli in Trentino

Prepare the dough. Put flour, sugar and salt in a bowl or on a work surface. Stir to blend. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs, oil and wine. With a fork or your fingertips, gradually, incorporate the flour until a soft dough. Sometimes you'll have to add some flour if the dough is very sticky. Knead the dough on a floured work surface for 8-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Cover with a napkin and allow to rest for at least 1h.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, beginning from the centre, to a thickness of 0,3 cm (1/8in); you have to use a long pasta rolling pin for this. Using a chef's knife or a pasta wheel, cut the dough into long strips, 3-4 cm (1 1/2in) wide and then cut every strip into 10 cm (4in) rectangles. Make some cuts in every rectangle.
Fry the dough rectangles. Scoop them out when they are nice and crisp and drain off the oil putting them on kitchen paper.
Dust with icing sugar.
Serve warm or cold.

Note

- The white wine can be substituted with other liqueurs (strong brandy) or coloured with alchermes.
- You could use 30 g (1 oz) unsalted butter in the dough instead of oil.
- We suggest to use extra virgin olive oil to fry.
- It's very difficult to have the real amount of the frying oil and icing sugar.
So nutrition facts don't include these ingredients. If you want to include these ingredients, you have to add 100-150 kcal per 100 g of this dish.